# New house, smoking room?



## shunoshi (Sep 30, 2009)

So, my wife and I just bought our first house. I've been "given" the entire basement to turn into my man cave. This includes a small bedroom which I'd like to turn into a smoking lounge. I'm looking for suggestions on what the best ways to remove smoke and neutralize odor would be. The room does have two windows and I'm considering installing an exhaust fan. I've also though about incense and air purifiers.

My main concern is that the smoke and odors remain in that room and don't permeate the house.

Any and all suggestions are welcome.


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## JKing (Dec 6, 2009)

Is it currently finished? If not vapor barrier under the sheetrock, think about Tyvek housewrap installed with the exterior surface facing the smoky side. A couple ultra quiet squirrel cage exhaust fans in the ceiling with the switch in reach of your chair, and a exterior grade french door will keep you out of trouble. Keeping the smell out of the lounge room itself is another problem I just ignore.


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## Smoke Rises (Dec 6, 2009)

try to stay away from carpet and fabrics in general. they tend to retain the smoke and stain. depending on how many people you plan to have most likely simple window fans will be enough. there are other variables of course.

ionizers do work but you shouldn't be in the area when they are on. i'd pass on the incense but a decent candle does wonders as will ozium spray. again not a good idea to breathe it in.

a door to help block air from going upstairs is also a good idea and one to block off air getting sucked in to your heat/AC.


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## GTCharged (Nov 3, 2008)

Smoke Rises just about covered the basics of smell, carpet is definitely not a good idea like he said, it will hold the smell in forever.


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## JKing (Dec 6, 2009)

Another thing about good exhuast fans is it produces a negative pressure area inside the room which draws clean air in through all existing leaks and will keep the seepage down if you let them run a bit after the air has cleared, and an exterior french door will be sealed but can usually be converted back close to an interior style for resale. 

I don't know anything about cigars but I've been a married carpenter for 12 years now so I have built some pretty secure man caves.


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## shunoshi (Sep 30, 2009)

As it turns out, the entire basement is finished...including carpeting. I've been thinking about this for awhile now and I do agree, the carpet has to go in that room if I want it to be a smoke lounge. I do like the exterior door idea as well. Weather sealing would keep smoke from seeping.

Thanks for the suggestions so far. If anyone has any particular brands of window exhaust fans that are tried and true, please let me know. Otherwise, keep the suggestions coming. I don't think I'll have the income to convert this room right away, but it'll be a work in progress (and I want to do it right).

I'll be relegated to the garage for this winter.


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## Dread (Oct 16, 2009)

Smoke eater candles do wonders if you get the right ones, this is one is phenomenal

Smoke Odor Exterminator Jar Candle Apple & Cinnamon - smejac

The CI candles arent anywhere near as good, I have 4 of them and all of them lit at once dont work as well as the one I have posted above. My room has a skylight and my chair is right beneath it so I just crack it open and light the candle and Im good to go.

Definetly remove the carpet, I have hardwood floors and all leather furnture. You dont want anything in the room thats going to soak up the odor. But if you do end up getting a good ventialtion system going you have very little to worry about. You could probably get away with having carpet and non-leather furniture. A local bar has a smoking room with carpet and club style non leather chairs(not sure of the fabric, almost seems like felt) and there is no odor retention at all. The smoke comes out and swirls right up to the vent, it does it so fast you can watch the smoke get sucked out of the room.


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## JKing (Dec 6, 2009)

Being the room is finished already the vapor barrier is out but a good oil based paint may help, I'll ask my painter tomorrow if that's worth the trouble. If you have vinyl siding a ceiling exhaust is still an option that will out perform a window unit. You'll need to remove some siding and drill some holes large enough to see down the joist spacing to check for obstructions and then once you find a good spot you can run the duct from the outside into the room and wire it up from that same access point. I like ceramic tile or some sort of stone flooring in a basement just in case a water leak or sewer back up, laminate floor will be destroyed after a single soaking.


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## shunoshi (Sep 30, 2009)

Dread said:


> Smoke eater candles do wonders if you get the right ones, this is one is phenomenal
> 
> Smoke Odor Exterminator Jar Candle Apple & Cinnamon - smejac


Ah, nice, I'll look into those. I like candles.



JKing said:


> Being the room is finished already the vapor barrier is out but a good oil based paint may help, I'll ask my painter tomorrow if that's worth the trouble. If you have vinyl siding a ceiling exhaust is still an option that will out perform a window unit. You'll need to remove some siding and drill some holes large enough to see down the joist spacing to check for obstructions and then once you find a good spot you can run the duct from the outside into the room and wire it up from that same access point. I like ceramic tile or some sort of stone flooring in a basement just in case a water leak or sewer back up, laminate floor will be destroyed after a single soaking.


I'll probably stick with a good window unit since I'm not much of a carpenter. Doing a ceiling installed exhaust unit in a basement room is fairly daunting to me. The room is also very small and I don't imagine having more than 2-3 smokers at any given time in it (there won't be enough seating). More times than not, it'll just be me.

As for the floors, I'll probably pull the carpet and install hardwood.

Welcome to Puff, by the way; thanks for dedicating all three of your posts so far to my little thread.


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## commonsenseman (Apr 18, 2008)

I only have one thing to say & this is VERY important.

Once the man cave is done, you have to invite me over for a cigar :biggrin:


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## shunoshi (Sep 30, 2009)

commonsenseman said:


> I only have one thing to say & this is VERY important.
> 
> Once the man cave is done, you have to invite me over for a cigar :biggrin:


This one I can guarantee. :smoke:


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## Nitrosportman (Oct 26, 2009)

yes make sure you use semi gloss to paint the walls so they can be wiped down occasionally with baking soda and water mixture this helps tons!!!


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## Jordan303 (Aug 16, 2008)

For the floor you can use cork. I think they run about 5 bucks a square foot but it won't retain the smoke and is very easy to lay down and cut to size.


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## Wiseguy1982 (Nov 17, 2009)

shunoshi said:


> I'll be relegated to the garage for this winter.


Welcome to the club my man!


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## GlassEye (Oct 25, 2009)

I would put an exhaust fan in one window, and in the other window(if it is not near the source of smoke) another fan to blow in the fresh air from outdoors, maybe a ceiling fan to keep the smoke down so that the window fans will suck it out. And no carpet, fabric, etc. If you want to go all out, get a good air purifier and some of those candles. Maybe a small tree would also help clean the air, but thats probably a bit much. By the way,This is all untested by me, i just sit nextt to the window with a small fan, never a smell left behind.


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## brianv (Aug 17, 2009)

For the floor I would highly recommend a cheap laminant flooring (ie. pergo is one of the more expensive brands). Home depot has a cheap brand that goes for about a buck a square foot and this stuff is basically indistructable and simple to put down over any surface such as the concrete that is probably under the carpet.


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## thebayratt (Jun 4, 2009)

brianv said:


> For the floor I would highly recommend a cheap laminant flooring (ie. pergo is one of the more expensive brands). Home depot has a cheap brand that goes for about a buck a square foot and this stuff is basically indistructable and simple to put down over any surface such as the concrete that is probably under the carpet.


+1 EXCEPT for going to Home Depot... *Go to Lowe's!!!*

I would go with a ceramic tile floor dure to moisture. I know some wood flooring can not be installed in basements due to moisture levels. Some houses have to be checked for mositure levels before any wood floor can be installed. The "laminate" or "fake wood" floorings are a little more giving as far as ability to deal with moisture. If you do go with wood be sure to get a quality moisture/vapor barrier for the floor. 
Does the basement have heat/AC? If not, you can get a heating & AC window unit. One catch is they have to be ran on 220V. Frigidaire at Lowe's: 8,000 Cooling BTU/ 3,500 Heating BTU Wall Room Air Conditioner Get one that is slightly larger than you would need. Then you won't over work it to clear the air. Or they make dual fans that can be reversed to blow in or out or both. Feature Comforts at Lowe's: 9" Twin Window Fan
Candles are good idea too. I have never used an air purifier/ionizer though.
Deffinately get an semigloss paint. They are easier to clean up/wipe down. They do make interior french doors also. You could get one and put some inexpensive weather stripping around it to make a good seal and save a few bucks than an exterior unit.


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## fuente~fuente (May 11, 2009)

All I know is when I start mine, I'm calling *JKing* to come over & do it.:lol:

Dang son!!! I see ya droppin' that knowledge with your first 3 posts!!!

:welcome: to Puff brother!!!


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## JKing (Dec 6, 2009)

Thanks fellas, I just found yall a couple weeks ago and my humi is already full with all the good recommendations here. Now I'm looking for another box to hold me over until I get my next house finished and I can get my wall humi built. I'll try and post up a introduction post with some cool pics of stuff I've done and my humble beginnings of my collection.


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## WaxingMoon (Aug 13, 2009)

There's a guy here in Atlanta that specializes in building smoking rooms. I'm sure if you contact him for some advice, he'll be more than happy to point you in the right direction. Scott is also a BOTL.... _Here's his link..._


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## kid smoker (Oct 13, 2009)

Personally, I hate having a hard surface finish for the floor. No matter how nice, it might as well be the garage. If you must go with a hard surface, try adding some area rugs to soften the feel and help dampen noise reflection and transmission. They can be taken out of the cave and hung outside in good weather to air them out.


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## Pugger (Sep 3, 2009)

Congrats on the purchase of your new house! Until you complete your smoking room do you have heat in your garage? I just put a new heater in mine and I don't think I would be able to smoke in the garage up here without one.


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## minicooper (Oct 3, 2009)

Congrats on the new house and congrats on being gifted your man cave!


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## Perfecto Dave (Nov 24, 2009)

Congrats on the man cave in the basement. Not sure what kind of budget you have to work off but I see your from the great Viking state. Seeing it probably tends to get a bit chilly in the winter you may want to look at some type of air cleaning system for the winter use to go along with your exhaust system for the summer. It would suck being in your basement cave and still having to wear a snow suit to smoke. I haven't tried the candles yet but I'm going to for my shop as I can't handle the stale smell later.

You are one lucky man!

Puff on.........


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## woodted (Jan 3, 2009)

Ryan,

As your state is smoke free, you may want to do what I'm planning for my garage next winter when Wisconsin is smoke free (Arrgg!), talk to some bar owners that may have their old smoke eaters laying around. I assume they'll be selling cheap. Who else are they going to sell them to?


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## jarrod (Oct 22, 2006)

good luck man.. should be nice when its finished


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